Page 54 of A Little Highland Magic

Chapter Twenty

Aria followed the sprites as they flew across the grasslands. Not since she was a child had she run with such abandon. No doubt it was because of the man at her side. So many things in her life seemed right, now that she was here with him. Even in Fairyland where she had never been happy before, she was content. But would he be happy with her once he learned her secret? She pushed the thought aside. He had told her he was focusing on the present—the here and now. And that is what she would do as well.

The sprites slowed down, then stopped as a figure appeared in the distance. Gille ran towards them waving her arms. As Aria and Graeme continued forward, she waved back, pleased that they were all reunited after the portal had separated them.

Or was it Oberon who had intervened?

As the distance between her and Graeme and Gille closed, the look of concern on Gille’s face startled Aria. Her gaze shifted to where Gille pointed. She stared into the distance and felt the blood drain from her face. A knot of fear tightened her stomach at the sight of the fairy legion. The golden sprites vanished like wisps in the wind.

Gille scrambled to a stop before them, breathing hard from her efforts. “Tried . . . to warn you. Cannot fight. Too many. Should . . . we run?”

Aria dropped Graeme’s hand and drew an arrow from her quiver and set it to her bow. “I can stop some of them.” She could fire several rounds before the fairies reached them.

Graeme placed his hand over hers, stalling her. “Our violence will be met with a battle we cannot hope to win with our swords. Our only option is to negotiate. After all, that is what we came here to do.”

Aria nodded and lowered her weapon, then returned her arrow to her quiver just as six men with blue hair that sparkled in the sunlight stopped before the three of them. The rest of the army settled behind them, their weapons remaining sheathed.

“What do you want?” Graeme asked, his voice as sharp as the steel of his blade.

The tallest of the blue-haired men stepped forward, a fairy Aria knew as Elros. His chest was bare, and he wore a crown of leaves and antlers on his head. “I am here to take you to Oberon, willingly or unwillingly. The choice is yours.”

It was what they had come to do, but not in this way. If they went with the soldiers, they could end up prisoners like her mother. Their only chance for an audience with Oberon was to take him by surprise. Aria drew her sword, reacting instinctively to a threat.

Elros’s gaze shifted from Graeme to her. “You are an excellent fighter, Aria. But you know that sword will do you no good. My men have you surrounded.”

Aria could see that was true. His men had encircled the three of them, trapping them. She sheathed her weapon as all her thoughts went to how she could keep Graeme and Gille safe, how they could continue their mission without her. She stepped forward. “I shall go with you, but you must first promise to leave this man and Gille behind, unharmed.”

Graeme objected but she stepped closer to Elros, offering herself to him. “I am ready to make amends with Oberon. Please take me and leave the others in peace.” She would do nothing of the sort, but it would allow the others to finish what they all had started.

Elros’s gaze shifted between Aria and Graeme. “What’s the matter, Aria? Are you trying to protect this man, or is it that you do not wish him to know your secrets?” Elros asked with a lift of his brows.

At the panic in Aria’s eyes, Elros smiled. “You care about this man, and he does not know your secret, does he?”

“Doesn’t know what?” Graeme asked, his features darkening. His hand drifted to the hilt of his sword.

“That Aria is going to be married to Keiran MacLeod this very night. They have been betrothed these past nine years. Oberon promised Aria if she ever returned to Fairyland, he would see her married by sundown.”

Graeme’s gaze shot to Aria’s. “Is this true?”

A chill raced down Aria’s spine at the pain in Graeme’s eyes. “I wanted to tell you . . . I tried to, but—”

An evil smile creased Elros’s face. “The secret’s out. Now all of you will come with us.” The fairy grabbed her hands and twisted them behind her, securing them with a rope.

Her plan had failed. Elros had no honour. None of them did—she should have remembered that. She was thinking like a MacLeod, a human. The only way to save any of them from this situation was to embrace her fairy side. Aria closed her eyes and centred her thoughts. Her magic was more powerful here in the fairy realm.

A thunderous sound came from behind Elros’s army. Stomp. Stomp. Fairy warriors scrambled to the left and right, no longer surrounding the three of them. Across the short distance that separated them, Aria met Graeme’s gaze. His eyes were not filled with pain or anger any longer, but determination. She gave a single nod, indicating for him to be ready. Gille stood at his side.

Fairies continued to scramble. The fear on their faces was something Aria never expected to see from the fairy legion. They were a fierce fighting unit, but even they, it seemed, could panic in the presence of three enormous fairy frogs. Had the fairy legion and Elros given Aria any other option but to fight back, she would have taken it. Instead, she’d been forced to call the beelzebufo to her from the Trinity River not far away.

The three frogs hopped closer. Two of the giant amphibians headed for the fairy legion, eating their way through the army, devouring men whole as they continued to scramble for their lives. The other frog stopped before Aria.

“Thank you for coming to our aid,” she said.

Graeme’s slack jaw spoke of his astonishment as he came forward and untied Aria’s hands.

“Do not worry,” she assured him. “The beelzebufo have always been friendly to me.”

“We h-heard you c-calling,” one of the giant brownish-green frogs said, stuttering slightly because of his very long tongue. The beelzebufo were intelligent creatures that grew when they inhaled air. “H-how c-can we b-be of s-service?”